I've had a lot of good days since this trip began back in November. I've had a good number of so-so days and a few bad ones as well. This last Saturday though, was a pretty awesome day out here on the road and darned close to perfect in my opinion. The stars aligned over Franklin, Tennessee to create a day which left me tired but feeling really good about life and this journey. If only we could all have a day like this last Saturday was for me now and again, the world would be a better, happier place.
The day started off cool, allowing me to sleep in a little bit in my van. As spring has started to give way to summer here in the South, and as I have moved into Central Time, it starts to get warm in my van pretty early. Saturday I had myself parked in the shade of a nice tree, though, allowing me a little extra sleep and waking up well rested for my big day. Once I was up and caffeinated, I headed off to the gym for a good morning workout..
I ate out a lot during my stay in South Carolina. South Carolina is definitely a wonderful food destination. With tons of seafood coming off the coast and wonderful farm-fresh meat and produce coming from the Piedmont, it's hard to go wrong. Unfortunately I didn't plan my meals out as well as I could have, nor did I do my due diligence by really researching the places I ate. These long days have kept me busy and I usually ended up eating wherever was open and grabbing a quick burger or a salad. This is something I hope to correct in Tennessee as I eat in a little more often and save my money and my appetite for some well planned out meals. I did, however, find a few cool places around the state so before I move on, I thought I would share some with you today.
I had some really great seafood up and down the coast. When I was out on Daufuskie Island, I had a plate of fresh fried grouper over jasmine rice with green beans and slaw at Lucy Bell's Cafe. When I tell you it was to die for, I really mean it…
I had so much fun doing my story on the breweries in Asheville, NC (The Best Beers in Beer City - read it HERE), that I decided to follow it up with a brewery tour down the road and across the state line here in Greenville. I have taken quite a shine to this town, and have really enjoyed my stay here. It feels like such an up-and-coming kind of place, like Asheville before it was Asheville. Prices are still reasonable, and there's a lot of opportunity here. One of the businesses which has been on the rise here in Greenville is the brewery business. There are about 8 breweries in the area and more on the way. I figured I'd take a little tour around and check them out. My rule for this crawl was the same as it was in Asheville, I would ask for the bartender's favorite beer - not their best seller or newest or freshest, but the one they would drink if they could only have one. Some of the beers I had were pretty awesome...
